Digital Euro Has Germans Fretting Their Money Won’t Be Secure

In a picturesque wine town about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Frankfurt lies a hidden bunker that for decades was one of Germany’s best-kept secrets. Built in 1962, the cavernous structure housed alternative deutsche marks, should West Germany’s Cold War foes flood the market with counterfeit banknotes in a bid to trigger hyperinflation.

In the end, the back-up currency wasn’t needed and was destroyed in 1988. Concern among Germans over the security of their money persists, however. Just over a year before a decision on whether to roll out a digital version of the euro, about half of people in Europe’s biggest economy even can’t imagine using it.